Report Says Caseworkers Not Halting Child Abuse

October 1, 1998|By SALLY KESTIN Staff Writer

Broward County children are being left in dangerous homes because poorly supervised caseworkers fail to thoroughly investigate abuse allegations, an internal report by the state's social services agency shows.

The findings are so serious that the agency is sending a team of experts to Broward County, the only such action anywhere in the state.

``I think they need help,'' said Ed Feaver, head of the state Department of Children & Families. ``This review is very serious because it points out a lot of systemic problems.''

The report is part of a statewide review by the agency, which is examining how well it responds to allegations that children have been abused or neglected.

Results are in for 13 of the 15 regional districts. Broward and Miami-Dade are among the five districts to receive an overall ranking below satisfactory, the lowest given.

In Broward County, a team of child welfare specialists reviewed 52 abuse and neglect investigations from Dec. 1, 1997, through May 30, 1998. The team had hoped to review 60 cases, but the district could not find eight case files.

Of those reviewed, only 40 percent were thoroughly investigated, according to the report.

In two cases, the team had ``immediate child safety concerns'' and alerted top administrators. Reviewers found seven other cases in which children might have been left in danger.

Feaver said he decided to send in the team of experts because the county has been without a child welfare director for several months. The child welfare director oversees all aspects of the district's child protection system, from foster care to abuse investigations.

He attributed some of the problems to bad managers, saying they have been too quick to blame inadequate resources ``when in fact the job could have been done better.''

Yet Feaver retained confidence in Johnny Brown, the district's top administrator in Broward County since August 1997. He said Brown is on track to turn things around.

Brown said he needs more time. ``I'm very much concerned about what's in that report,'' he said.

The review confirms what critics have said: Broward County's child protection system isn't working and is putting children at risk.

A grand jury began an investigation this summer, following a failed adoption in which the agency placed a child with a man who had a history of sexual misconduct with other children.

After hearing from people in the child protection system, jurors broadened their inquiry to include foster care and child abuse investigations. Their report is expected within the next several weeks.

The agency's internal review criticized investigators not only for their judgment but also for their failure to follow basic requirements of the job.

Investigators routinely did not conduct state or local police checks on parents.

Observations of children ``were for the most part very superficial,'' providing little insight into the family's problems, reviewers found.

In some cases, investigators failed to talk to neighbors, teachers, day care workers and others outside the family, who are important because abusive parents often lie. They relied instead on relatives, apparently because it was more convenient, reviewers found.

Of those who were interviewed, investigators did not ask ``essential questions'' or probe into problems that can lead to abuse, such as drug use and domestic violence, the report says.

As a result, they were left to make critical decisions without the information they needed.

Investigators told reviewers they felt overwhelmed, saying they constantly had to pick up more work when a colleague left. Turnover was so high that some workers quit before they finished their initial training.

Reviewers found, however, that workloads in Broward County were not heavier than elsewhere in the state, averaging 14 per investigator.

Bob Ritz, deputy administrator in Broward County, said that figure may have been higher for some investigators. Few have enough time to do the job right, he said.

``They're constantly juggling priorities, and sometimes they drop the ball,'' he said.

Supervisors are supposed to make sure investigators do their jobs. But they were only doing cursory reviews, if anything, inspectors found.

In 16 cases, supervisors never reviewed the investigation, the files show. Only one in four cases that were reviewed offered ``any guidance or direction, even when it was apparent that guidance was needed,'' reviewers wrote.

Brown was not surprised.

``This department is weak in that area,'' he said. ``We are looking at every supervisor in the field right now to see if they really should be in those positions.''

In addition to examining cases, the reviewers met with guardians, police, a judge and others involved in the child protection system. All reported problems with the social services agency.

A worker at a shelter for abused and neglected children said the agency sends children with ``little or no information'' about their family. Other agencies, including the Broward Sheriff's Office, said investigators often do not return their calls.

Attorneys with the Attorney General's Office, which represents the agency in juvenile court, complained that they rarely receive the information they need. They had to hire someone to conduct background checks on parents because abuse investigators were not checking.

Brown said he plans to meet with all of the agencies that have complaints and try to improve relations.

State officials gave him a month to submit a detailed plan for fixing all the problems identified in the report. The agency plans a follow-up review in six months.

``We're expecting the district to correct the problems, or at least make major progress,'' Feaver said.